Electric movers or cars in prior art transport systems of this type usually have wheels driven by electric motors and having a built-in brake. The brake not only increases the manufacturing cost of the system, but also makes it more complex to operate, more particularly the brake has to be deenergized whenever the electric mover is operated manually or is driven by an auxiliary conveyor. The brake of the electric mover has to be energized again when it is intended to stop moving.
Therefore, a need exists for a new type of transport system with a brakeless electric motor as its prime mover. The electric mover in this case must easily be controllable to stop at a given station or to stay sidelined. We have in the past proposed to meet these requirements by transport systems having a first and second stop switches to cut off the supply of power to each brakeless motor. The first switch is installed in a switchboard of a stopping mechanism and is manually operable to halt each electric mover at a given station. The second stop switch is provided on each electric mover whereby a member protruding rearwardly from a preceding electric mover actuates the second switch of a following mover when the latter approaches the former closer than a predetermined distance. The two stop switches and their accessories and their operation present various problems that complicate the transport system.